Using GPS without Cell Service?
 

I am going to Thailand and Cambodia for a few weeks in May and I think it would be pretty nice to be able to use GPS while there. Unfortunately the normal programs I use (Google Maps and MS Live) don't allow me to download map data, so if I do not have data service it will not show me the map. Do you guys know of a way I can download the maps for use offline? Are there other software options that will do what I want? All I want is something like Google Earth that works while not connected to the internet. If it could show me restaurants and stuff as well that would be perfect.

Re: Using GPS without Cell Service?
 

u need a program like tomtom or igo, they come with maps
or u can always use wifi

i heard once that there is a program that downloads google maps for offline use but i am not sure

Re: Using GPS without Cell Service?
 

I heard stuff about how the GPS is locked to within North American limits, meaning it won't acquire locks if you're outside of the country. I'm not positive, but this is supposedly a limitation of the GPS chip itself, not the lacking of the cell service.

Re: Using GPS without Cell Service?
 

It's locked in N.A. or the US? You said N.A. but said country...

I can confirm it works outside of the U.S. as I used in in Acapulco last November.

Re: Using GPS without Cell Service?
 

From what i heard, it will work anywhere, but without the cell network, it will take ages to lock onto any satellites.

Re: Using GPS without Cell Service?
 

I meant continent then, hahah. Anyway I'm not completely sure, I just hear that it probably doesn't work in Europe and the sort.

//this is the link I read a while back

http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread...outside+states
http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread...outside+states

Its the Vogue, but I assume we all have similar gpsOne chips in our phones.

There are some reports that it works outside the US, but they don't mention where, so I'm not sure how exactly the chip works outside NA

Re: Using GPS without Cell Service?
 

Of course the gpsOne chipset works outside of the US. HTC uses it on all their recent phones.

The possibility of a kill-switch is a valid point though. HTC could have built it into the software somewhere, but I doubt they would.

As for actual functioning of the GPS, if you have it set to mode 4 in the registry (That's assisted + phone GPS), it shuold work. Actually, I think only one mode won't work. I think it's 2, but I don't remember off the top of my head. The GPS mode is set in all CDMA carriers by default to attempt aGPS fixes. All that means is that the phone uses a server on the cell network to help it get a quicker lock for GPS satellites.

One helpful thing that Sprint did was include a program called QuickGPS, which is essentially a poor-man's aGPS. It connects to the QuickGPS servers by any means possible (hint: when you get to where you're going, find a WiFi hotspot and manually update QuickGPS) and the servers attempt a rough geo-location for your public IP address and kind of gives the phone's GPS daemon a hint at where the satellites might be. This is exactly how my TomTom does it to get quicker GPS locks.

So in short; yes, you will probably be able to use your phone for GPS outside the US, but you will, as people have already said, have to use a GPS program like TomTom with pre-loaded maps.

Re: Using GPS without Cell Service?
 

I just returned from Australia & New Zealand. The gps worked great.

I used the igo software.

Re: Using GPS without Cell Service?
 

A software package like tracky will allow you to download scanned maps or the equivalent to use offline, as long as you calibrate it

Re: Using GPS without Cell Service?
 

Took me about 5 minutes on my first lock in Malta, after that abut one or two minutes.